RAIN Practice/Recognize, Allow, Investigate, Nurture

This practice is based on the work of Spirit Rock and Tara Brach. Our ability to sit with whatever we are experiencing, and apply the concepts of first recognizing, then allowing, investigating your experience, and then nurturing what needs to be held in that moment. This is a powerful technique for learning to gain perspective of our internal world and accessing curiosity and compassion.

Transcript

And we'll start by just taking a few deep diaphragmatic breaths please. So let the belly relax. Feel the natural and inherent expanse of qualities of inhale and the inherent qualities of contraction on exhale. And oftentimes when the eyes close the mind gets very very busy and that's okay. We're simply stepping in to the witness. We're stepping in to the place of the observer. The part of you that can see without judgment, That can see without adding on anything to the story. So as you take your seat between heaven and earth you feel yourself grounded through the feet or if you're sitting on a cushion through the hips or buttocks. Feel yourself supported by the earth beneath you, The dirt, The rocks, The sediment. Feel yourself grounded. And then just above the crown of the head sense or feel the space above you expansive, Open to the sky, The atmosphere, Moving out into space, The stars, The planets, The galaxies, The universe. And you take your seat between both and start by simply noticing the breath. For today's practice notice the breath at the tip of the nose or at the base of the nostrils. You feel a slight cooling as you inhale and slight warmth as you exhale. And simply notice the qualities of your breath. Is it deep or shallow? Is it smooth or rough? Is the breath a little longer or shorter? You're simply noticing and applying this idea of recognizing, Just simply recognizing the breath. Allowing its qualities to reveal themselves to you. There's nothing to shift or change. And can you approach this allowing with a curiosity, An inquiry. Where does the breath come from and where does it return to? What are the processes that allow me to breathe? The ones I'm aware of and the ones that I'm not aware of. And can you be in a state of non-judgment about it? Even a sense of nurturing about the breath. Maybe even thanking the body for what it's doing without you even noticing. And now bring that same awareness to thought. Any thoughts that are arising. And you as the witness, As the observer, Simply recognize. Ah, A thought. I'm thinking. Recognizing whatever is arising. And can you simply allow the thoughts to come into consciousness and then dissipate? Can you sense yourself in the space of steadiness, Simply watching, Recognizing and allowing. Nothing to change. Nothing to stop. Potentially cultivating this same curiosity and inquiry. Where do the thoughts come from and where do they go? Can you approach each thought with an open heart? Even a sense of wonder at the thinking mind. Recognizing the thoughts as they arise. Allowing them to be as they are. And inquiring about their nature. And could you nurture or sit in the space of non-judgment around the thinking mind? Can you offer yourself compassion and grace for the mind doing what it's supposed to do? You are the witness, The watcher, The observer. And now bring that same awareness to the feeling tone. What are the feelings you're experiencing right now? Are you interested or bored? Tired? Stressed? Content? Joyful? Bring that same curiosity, That same open-heartedness to experiencing the feeling tone. If you're feeling stressed or anxious, Where do you feel it in your body? Recognize it. If you're feeling content or easeful, Relaxed, Where do you feel that in your body? What does it feel like to be in the state you're in right now? Simply recognize and allow it to be. Don't try to shift or change anything. Just notice. Approach the feeling with curiosity. Investigate. Inquire. And then does this feeling need nurturing? Or does it just need to be seen in a place of non-judgment? Recognize what you're feeling. Allow it to be present. Investigate or inquire about its nature. And offer it what it needs, Nurturing or non-judgment. You in your steadiness can see it all. And of course at any point if you get lost in thought, Simply begin again. Simply notice, Ah I got lost in thought and here I am again back at the breath or with a thought or with a feeling. Just being for this last minute or so in this place of non-judgment. Notice if any one of those three places, The breath, Thoughts or the feelings, Need more attention and spend some time in that space. Recognize. Allow whatever is there to be there. Inquire. Be curious about its nature and nurture or allow yourself to just be in the space of non-judgment. The witness, The observer from a space of compassion.